Mainly knowing Anthony Hopkins since he made his big splash in 1991 as "Hannibal Lecter" in "Silence Of The Lambs," I - and many others - seem to think of him as this soft-spoken, reserved man with a great vocabulary. Thus, it was a shock to me - a big fan of his acting - to hear of some disturbing things in his personal life over the years. We all make tons of mistakes but I still hate to hear of a people who are poor parents and lousy spouses. Such is the case with Hopkins, who ended relations with his daughter and didn't seem to care, and has married and cheated on all of his women. Hopefully, not his latest spouse, who he seems very happy with. As stated in this episode, Hopkins is a total loner and is often happiest away from people.
I don't want to judge Hopkins as we all are sinners, but I will judge how this Biography program went about presenting this program. Instead of just Hopkins and/or his friends and peers discussing his life, and a narrator, instead we get mostly gossip-sounding idiots, newspaper film critics and such interpreting Hopkins life for us. They all revere actors so they rationalize Hopkins' poor morals every time, too. Just give us the facts, people, and let us decide. These Biography shows are better left to just a narrator and some of the subject's friends or associates. To have others - three guys here - all chip in with constant anecdotes and opinions of Hopkins life, almost makes me feel like I am watching some cheap "Insider" celebrity television show.
Anyway, this famous British actor from Wales, like his hero Richard Burton, was a stage star in the UK for quite a while before hitting it big on-screen. One trip to California was a disaster but he gave it another shot in the '70s, moved to Los Angeles and eventually became a U.S. citizen. Tony seems to have liked America, right from the start. He made a few very good movies early on - "Elephant Man" being the best, and then.....well, that's history. After "Lecter," Hopkins had become a full-fledged star and kept up his "hot streak" with two classy Merchant-Ivory films ("Howards End" and "The Remains Of The Day") and has starred in many, many movies ever since.
When they mentioned what Hopkins was like as a child, I almost laughed. It sounds so typical of famous actors: shy, few friends in school but liked attention, went to movies as an escape, a loner and misfit and later, with an "I'll show them" attitude. This hostility turned to rage when he was young. He often vented his wrath on directors. Later, in his older youth or early middle age, he would go on drinking binges. However, to his credit, once he gave that up, he's been sober ever since.
